Russell Westbrook Loses Triple-Double vs. Heat After NBA Makes Stat Adjustment

The triple-double Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook appeared to have in Sunday's 93-75 victory over the Miami Heat has been rescinded.

An official NBA review discovered that Westbrook only had nine rebounds to go with 12 points and 17 assists. Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman had the details:

Westbrook has been stuffing the stat sheet all season, helping the Thunder overcome numerous injuries to remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture. The 26-year-old point guard has garnered serious MVP consideration as a result.

ESPN's Skip Bayless believes Westbrook emerged as the MVP front-runner after Sunday's win over Miami:

After the game, Westbrook spoke about how he tried to stymie Heat scorer Dwyane Wade, who managed just 12 points as Westbrook logged four steals and two blocks.

"Just denying, making it tough for him," Westbrook told reporters. "He got going early, but as a team we did a good job after that of making him shoot tough shots."

Triple-doubles are a rare feat, which is why it's so amazing that Westbrook has had nine this season. A ridiculous usage rate has a lot to do with Westbrook's incredible numbers, as he leads the NBA in that stat at 37 percent, per NBA.com.

It's a bit difficult to get behind someone like Westbrook in an MVP race when his shot selection is, at times, openly laughable, and he also leads the league in turnovers with 4.4 a game.

Whatever erratic elements exist in Westbrook's game, though, he often overcomes them with acrobatic plays on both ends of the floor. Westbrook has undoubtedly helped Oklahoma City stay relevant in the brutal West, so even though he has one less triple-double to his name, it shouldn't hurt his MVP candidacy.